So, lots and lots of emails pertaining to my Babble “Windows 7 – This is ridiculous…”
Some of you can’t wait to get your grubby little hands on it, and some of you are flat out pissed you already bought Vista, with a couple of you flat out pissed at me for making the jump to Vista based on my recommendations and Babbles.
Okay, I’m going to defend myself here.
One, I don’t recall twisting anyone’s arm to install Vista. It’s true I do have Vista installed on some of my machines but I have been quite vocal from the get-go about what is needed to run Vista successfully and that it’s not the best OS ever produced (Windows 2008 is) but, I do get where you are coming from. I’m a big boy, I can take it.
Also, I never said I had rolled it at work. As a matter of fact I have clearly stated I have, and still have mind you, a small group of people running Vista Business edition and a couple of early adopters who insisted on running Vista because of all the headaches they had with… **gulp**… XP.
Now, that said I know I have spoken highly of Vista and I am not backing off that at all. I have been running Vista, on various machines since day one. I have felt the pain and the occasional misery everyone has experienced with Vista but after SP1 a lot of that pain went away.
Again, and let me be quite clear here… Windows 2008 as a Workstation is the BEST desktop OS I have ever run. Period. I guess the reason I am so happy with what I have seen so far in Windows 7, is the simple fact that I feel ,even at this early stage of development , it’s almost a fast as my Windows 2008 desktop system at home (which, to be honest is very flippen fast).
So, that’s all I have to say about that.
However, the reason for the title in the Babble is I honestly feel people have missed the boat a bit with Vista. Honestly, I think some of you are looking at it the wrong way.
There is NO denying Vista is more stable and more secure (mostly secure) than Windows XP could ever hope to be and with the world the way it is right now with and with all the bad people who will stop at nothing to make a buck with your information I for one am very glad to be using a very secure and, to be honest, fast OS. Sure it took some money (actually more than I would have liked to have spent… but…) to make it fast but I knew from the beginning that Microsoft wasn’t really building a new OS, they were actually building a new platform. You read right folks, a platform. Microsoft clearly stated Vista would have a new kernel and driver matrix and we all knew that. Don’t look at me like that, we all knew!
I think we all also know, when a new platform is introduced new problems come along with it but, also with any new platform we all have to understand that... [Read More]
What the hell is Microsoft thinking! Who at Microsoft thought it was a good idea to release Windows 7 to the Tech community? Honest to god this has to be one of the worst decisions I have ever seen from any company in all my days on this planet.
So you’re probably wondering why I am so upset. Well, I’ll tell you.
I just loaded up the PDC build in two virtual machines and after seeing it’s performance in the VM’s (VMWare and Hyper-V) I decided to remove my main HD, install a spare 250 GB drive I have sitting on a shelf (you should see my office… I have a lot of stuff laying around for testing purposes) and after about 30 minutes of doing some basic and a couple of application installations (Messenger, Office 2007, etc…) I have concluded this OS puts Windows Vista to shame. TO SHAME!
Who in the hell at Microsoft decided to actually make Explorer useful and understandable?
Who decided that running the x64 version of Windows 7 in 1.5 GB of RAM should actually perform?
What engineering team decided Internet Explorer 8.0 should fly through the internet?
What group thought to protect a users data via a simple and dynamic RAID 0 setup was a good idea?
What brain-trust had the audacity to come up with the idea that when an application is minimized it should release it's unused system resources back to the OS? WHO? Who did this? I want answers!
Honest to god, I think the folks at Microsoft are trying to make my head explode! I can’t handle this kind of performance. I just can’t. I had to load it on three machines just to make sure someone up in Redmond wasn’t screwing with me!
Right now, I have 6 applications open, including three independent Internet Explorer browsers, Word 2007, Powerpoint 2007, Windows Messenger, AVG Free 8.0, and a couple of Explorer windows and I am using a TOTAL of 900MB. DID YOU READ THAT MICROSOFT! 900 MB Total! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME!
I am absolutely stupefied the engineers at Microsoft decided to develop, using the Windows Vista/2008 kernel no less, a stellar OS even in this early stage. I can’t handle this!!! I am not use to this. I am use to bloatware. I am use to slow… I am use to… Vista.
I am use to Vista pausing for no apparent reason and having to hold onto my laptop praying it doesn’t take off like a UFO.
I'm use to Vista kicking my processor up so high I could use the heat from the fan on the bottom of my laptop to dry my hair.
I am use to having to shove 4 – 8 GB of RAM into every system I own just to get Vista to perform.
I am use to scores of fellow techs hammering me about how Vista is killing them from a hardware and resource perspective (like I have a “bat phone” directly to Mr. Ballmer and Mr. Gates).
The new voice-activated Google Mobile app for the iPhone is finally here. Whatever the reason for the delay, it was worth the wait. As we wrote last week, the search app knows when you bring the phone to your face to speak into it. It beeps, you talk, and it executes a Google search on what you said. (If you're using a headset, you have to press a button. You can type in your queries, too, if you want.)
It is freakishly accurate. It's not perfect, but it's extremely good. Good enough to be used frequently, I'd say, although this review is based on only 15 minutes of experimentation.
While not a "top of the line" monitor, it's a pretty good price.
Score! Buy.com has a 22-inch wide-screen LCD monitor for the lowest price I've ever seen: $149.99 shipped (after a $20 mail-in rebate). And it's new, not a refurb. Score!
OK, settle down; there are a few caveats. First, I rounded up a bit. This is actually a 21.6-inch LCD, though I don't think anyone's going to quibble over four-tenths of an inch. Second, the Optiquest Q2162wb is a decidedly entry-level monitor. Although it offers a native resolution of 1,680x1,050 and a 5ms response time, it has only a VGA input--no DVI or HDMI. No speakers, either.
ZoneAlarm pioneered the personal computer firewall and our parent company, Check Point Software launched the first comprehensive enterprise firewall 15 years ago. We know how to keep the bad guys out. It makes us proud to know that our firewall protects every member of the Fortune 100, and is trusted by over 60 million people worldwide.
To celebrate, we're offering you ZoneAlarm Pro firewall absolutely FREE!
This is the portable version of Google Chrome, called Chromium. All you have to do is unpack and run and all program settings are saved in "Chrome" folder while user settings go in "Profile" folder.
Simple Port Forwarding was designed to make forwarding ports on your router as easy as a few clicks.
The program works by automating the process for you. So whether you don't understand how to forward ports, or your simply looking for an easier way of doing things then this program is for you.
Apple has released a software update to address an issue where trackpad clicks would randomly go unrecognized on its latest notebook offerings: the MacBook (Late 2008) and MacBook Pro (Late 2008).
"This firmware update addresses an issue where trackpad clicks may not be recognized on MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008) and MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2008) computers," the company said.
The e-mails, unsealed last week, reveal concerns by Microsoft insiders and outsiders that the company eased the specifications for a Vista Capable PC prior to Vista's debut in early 2007 in order satisfy chipmaker Intel, which was laden with a large inventory of graphics components that did not meet the original requirements for Vista.
That didn't sit well with HP, which developed two motherboards specifically for the then-new operating system.
"The decision you have made and communicated has taken away an investment we made consciously for competitive advantage knowing that some players would choose not to make the same level of investment as we did in supporting your program requirements," HP consumer PC executive Richard Walker wrote in an e-mail to former Microsoft co-presidents Jim Allchin and Kevin Johnson, dated Feb. 1, 2006.
"I can't be more clear than to say you not only let us down by reneging on your commitment to stand behind the WDDM [Windows Display Driver Model] requirement, you have demonstrated a complete lack of commitment to HP as a strategic partner and cost us a lot of money in the process," wrote Walker.
In an e-mail to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Allchin called the situation "a mess."
Instead of this week's regular Q&A, I thought I'd just pass along a nifty tip for accessing some of the more common Vista folders. Yes, the shell command in Vista gives you quick access to various folders.
To access a shell command, just click on Start, Run and then type "shell:command." Don't try to use the shell:command at the command prompt (cmd.exe), as it will fail -- shell:command is not recognized by the command interpreter.
The new Google Mobile App for iPhone makes it possible for you to do a Google web search using only your voice. Just hold the phone to your ear, wait for the beep, and say what you're looking for. That's it. Just talk. Once the App is on, you don't have to push any buttons to search. Check out the video below to watch engineer Mike LeBeau explain how this works.
After you speak your query, Google Mobile App will return search results formatted for your iPhone.
As BoomTown reported earlier today in an exclusive scoop, Yahoo has confirmed that CEO Jerry Yang will be stepping down and a search for his replacement is underway.
(Yang also penned a memo to Yahoo employees about the move.)
Here is the entire Yahoo (YHOO) press release about the development:
"this particular setup is the highest priced setup we have ever used so we will soon find out if they are worth the price."
As more and more of us turn to Home Theater PCs to get information off of the Internet the days of using a plain keyboard to access that information is now behind us. To make using the controls on your HTPC easier it will require the use of a far more complex keyboard and a full functional mouse. Another requirement for the mouse and keyboard is that they not be oversized so as not to take up to much room where you will store these items.
Today we are reviewing a Microsoft Wireless Entertainment Desktop 8000 keyboard and mouse combo, this particular setup is the highest priced setup we have ever used so we will soon find out if they are worth the price. One feature that makes this combo so special is the fact that they come with a charging system to batteries charged in the keyboard and mouse.
Things may seem bad now – with fears of a world recession looming – but they could be set to get much worse.
A real-world analysis of a controversial prediction made 30 years ago concludes that economic growth cannot be sustained and we are on track for serious economic collapse this century.
In 1972, the seminal book Limits to Growth by a group called the Club of Rome claimed that exponential growth would eventually lead to economic and environmental collapse.
Truly you can only pull this off if 1: - you have a job, and 2: if you need a PC. Oh who am I kidding... of course you need a new PC!
Remember when you were in the third grade? As the holidays grew near, your teacher made you sit down and make a gift for your parents. Whether it was a Christmas present, Hanukkah gift, or another holiday gift, you dutifully sat down and crafted something that's probably still hanging on your mother's refrigerator, or squirreled away in a cardboard box in the garage.
It's time to hearken back to those days of yore, and craft something else for friends or family. This time around, though, give them the gift of a PC. Whether they're looking for a second system, or need something for a specific purpose, like editing those home videos, it's never been a better time to build a PC. The economy is in terrible shape, but that also translates to bargains if you shop around a bit.
ATI, graphics product group of Advanced Micro Devices, and Nvidia Corp., the world’s largest supplier of discrete graphics processing units (GPUs), reportedly plan to cut prices on discrete graphics cards for desktop personal computers in attempt to either boost or stabilize market shares.
A news-story from DigiTimes web-site claims that not only ATI plans to drop prices on its discrete desktop GPUs in a bid to boost its appropriate market share to 50%, but also Nvidia plans to decrease pricing of its graphics chips in order not to allow AMD/ATI to take away market share.
We're very excited to announce the new release of Google SketchUp 7. If you don't already know about the fun you can have with SketchUp, here's a quick recap:
SketchUp is software you can use to build 3D models of anything: your house, killer robots, furniture, trees, abstract art — anything. Architects and engineers use it to design buildings and other structures. Woodworkers use it to plan their projects. And lots of people use it to figure out where to put their furniture. SketchUp is easy to learn, it comes in free and Pro versions, and it's more fun than a houseful of clowns. Oh, and you can use it to build models for Google Earth, too.
Vista Transformation Pack does a great job of giving your XP machine the Vista look. In December last year Windows Blinds released a new version of their software that was designed to provide Windows XP with transparent effects, however, it wasn't free. That is where the Vista Transformation Pack comes into play. It is free and does a great job of giving my machine a look similar to Vista. It doesn't have the powerful transparency effects for every window (as seen on the window to the right in the screenshot above) but does have enough transparency to make me happy. The greatest thing is that it is free!
In the video, dated Nov. 16, states failure of General Motors, Ford Motor Co., and Chrysler LLC in 2009 would lead to 3 million lost U.S. jobs in the auto industry and related industries, cost Americans $398.2 billion in personal income over three years and cost the U.S. government $156.4 billion in lost taxes over the same period. It also states that a collapse of the industry would be a national security threat: “In the event of a broad military conflict, the United States would have to rely on other nations for large-scale manufacturing.”
Microsoft explained the delay on issuing a patch on the effect a fix would have had on network-based applications. In a post on Microsoft's Security Response Blog, Christopher Budd explains that the SMBRElay attack worked in much the same way as its legacy NTLM protocol.
"When this issue was first raised back in 2001, we said that we could not make changes to address this issue without negatively impacting network-based applications. And to be clear, the impact would have been to render many (or nearly all) customers’ network-based applications then inoperable," Budd explained.
